Bag dispenser



M y 1966 w. B. BROWN ETAL 3,251,506

BAG DISPENSER Filed Aug. 3, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR-S WARREN 8. BROWN CHARLES P. EKLOF BY LELAND V. ROSKELLEY y 7, 1966 w. B. BROWN ETAL 3,251,506

BAG DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 3, 1964 rIIIlllI/IIIIIIIIIIIIIA l INVENTORS 8. BROWN WARREN 1/11/1114 will/1111111111111 P. EKLOF CHARLES BYflLfLAND V. ROSKELLE 3,251,506 BAG DISPENSER Warren B. Brown and Charles P. Eklof, Salt Lake City, and Leland V. Roskelley, Ogden, Utah, assignors to Ice All-O-Matic Manufacturing, Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah, a corporation of Utah Filed Aug. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 386,865 4 Claims. (Cl. 221-36) This invention relates to dispensing machines for paper bags and is Concerned with providing a simple, yet highly efficient machine for the purpose, whereby bags may either be dispensed alone or simultaneously with other materials discharged by a vending machine.

Machines have been developed for dispensing bags in the past, but so far as we are aware these have not in cluded any means to eifectively compensate for varying bag thicknesses, or for several bags being glued or otherwise stuck together; As a result of such variances from given norms, bags have frequently jammed in dispensers, rendering them inoperative. Jamming has also resulted from failure of customers to remove dispensed bags from the machines, subsequent bags being unable to force their way out. In addition, previously known machines have not included positive feed mechanisms that will dispense the bags invidually, without tearing or otherwise damaging them, when a considerable number of bags are stacked on the bag being dispensed.

Principal objects of the present invention are to provide a bag dispenser that will positively feed bags from beneath'a stack of bags without jamming and becoming inoperative as a result of varying thicknesses of individual bags, or because a plurality of bags are tightly stuck together, or because a previously dispensed bag has not been removed from the machine.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a bag dispenser that will permit only a single bag or a minimum number of tightly stuck-together bags to be dispensed at one time.

In order to positivley feed the bags, we employ a rocking, bag-engagement member carried by a slide fixed to a solenoid rod that is moved to dispense a bag upon energization of the solenoid. Jamming is prevented by a spring-loaded tension plate having a curved cam surface which is engaged by the bags as they pass thereunder. The tension plate also serves as a meansfor separating loose bags and bags that are not tightly stuck together, to insure dispensing of normally only one bag, but, in any event, only a minimum number of bags each time the solenoid is energized.

There is shown in the accompanying drawing a specific embodiment of the invention representing what is presently regarded as the best modeof carrying out the generic concepts in actual practice. From the detailed description of this presently preferred form of the invention, other more specific objects and feature will become taken on the line 2b2b of FIG. 2a;

FIG. 3, a vertical section taken on the line line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4, a horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5, an enlarged, fragmentary, side elevation of the dispensing slideand bag-engaging member, shown in the process of moving a bag from the housing.

I United States Patent 3,251,506 Patented May 17, 1966 ice ' Referring now to the drawings:

- In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the bag dispenser housing is shown generally at 10 and includes side walls 11, a rear wa1l12, and an open front 13. Side walls 11 are outwardly flanged at their front margins to provide guides 14 for,a.sliding tension plate 15 and for a sliding bag retainer plate 16, as will be further explained.

Housing 10 is provided with a bottom wall 18 that curves downwardly from rear wall 12 to the open front 13. The curved configuration directs bags downwardly and forwardly in the housing, toward a dispensing opening formed between tension plate 15 and the bottom wall 18 and cocks the bags into dispensing position. A pair of spaced guides 19, one at either side of the housing, rest on the bottom wall and provide a slide surface for the flat folded bags. An abutment 20, formed at the lower end of each guide 19, is engaged by the bottom edge of the folded bags to prevent their being moved back into the housing.

An opening 21 is formed through the bottom wall 18 and extends to the open front 13 of the housing to provide an openarea for movement of a solenoid-actuated, bag-engagement member, shown generally at 22.

Bag-engagement member 22 is carried by a slide 23, fixed to a solenoid rod 24 that is expelled upon energization of solenoid 25.

Slide 23 is guided for reciprocating movement within parallel U-shaped housing supports 26 positioned beneath .of the slide, can be employed to further interconnect the supports 26 and the frame, if desired. Supports 26 also provide mounting braces for solenoid 25.

The bag-engagement member 22 is of generally rockerlike configuration, with an upstanding and outwardly curved bag-gripping edge 30 and a weighted edge 31,

these two edges being interconnected by a curved portion 32. A pair of holes 33 are provided through the curved portion 32. Bolts 34, which have heads 35 larger than the respective holes 33 and shanks 36 considerably smaller than such holes, are loosely passed through both the holes 33 and holes 37 in the slide. Holes 37 are slightly larger than the respective shanks, and nuts 38 are threaded on bolts 34 to hold them in place. The oversizing of the holes 33 allows bag-engagement member 22 to freely rock on curved portion 32. I This rocking is limited by the engagement of bag-engagement member 22 with shanks 36 of bolts 35. While the weight 31 may counterbalance the bag-gripping edge and the length of curved portion 32 extending upwardly thereto, an exact counterbalance is not necessary and the weight 31 may slightly overbalance, since the movement of slide 23 will cause the bag-engagement member to rock into proper position. Thus, as best seen in FIG. 5, the bag-gripping edge is raised to engage a bag edge whenever the rod 24 is expelled from solenoid 25, and, as is best seen in FIG.

the housing, at its folded edge 41. Edge 41 is cocked downwardly by the curved bottom wall 18 and the abutment 20 for easy gripping by the bag-gripping edge 30, even though there is only a single bag in the dispenser. On return movement of the slide, the inertia of the bagengagement member 22 rocks gripping edge thereof down to a non-engaging position, and, in this position, the outward curve of said gripping edge allows such bagengagement member to slide beneath the lowermost bag, without tearing or otherwise damaging it. During this return travel of the bag-engagement member 22 the lowermost bag is prevented from being moved back into the housing 10 by the engagement of its folded edge 41 with the abutment 20.

Bag-retainer plate 16 acts as a facing panel to hold bags in the housing, and slidesupwardly on guides 14 to allow easy placement of the bags in the housing. Tabs 43 on the bag-retainer plate extend over the ends of guides 14 to limit downward movement of the plate.

Rods 44, journaled through the side walls, serve as rests for bags stacked at the upper level of the housing and hold the weight of bags above them off the bagengagement member, thus reducing the weight on the lowermost bag and further insuring positive feed of this bag by the bag-engagement member. A stack of bags is placed on the curved bottom wall 18, as described, and another stack is placed thereon, with one of its ends resting on an end of the first or lower stack and the other of its ends resting on a rod 44, FIGS. 1 and 2. Addi tional stacks (not shown) are similarly placed with respect to other rods 44 and next lower stacks until the housing is filled. As bags are fed from the bottom, those bags supported at one end by a rod 44 sequentially slide from such supporting rod to the stack beneath.

The sliding tension plate 15 is also guided for reciprocating movement on flange guides 14. A spring 45 at each side of the tension plate is fixed at its lower end 46 to a spring mounting means 46a fixed to the corresponding guide 14; and at its upper end 47 to the tension plate, so that the tension plate is normally biased toward a lowered position. The spring mounting means 46a for end 46 of each spring 45 extends upwardly along its guide 14 and acts as a stop means to limit downward travel of plate 15.

Intermediate the guides 14, the bottom edge 48 of the tension plate is curved outwardly away from the housing. The curved configuration provides an opening 49 between the edge 48 and the bottom wall 18 just large enough to allow the bottom bag of the stack of bags in the housing to easily slide between them when plate 15 is in its lowermost position. Additional bags moved toward the opening with the lowermost bag contact the tension plate and are normally held in the housing. In the event one or more additional bags are tightly stuck to the bottom bag, it will act against the curved bottom edge to cam the tension plate up, so it or they too can be dispensed and Will not jam the opening. The springs maintain constant tension on the tension plate, and, if the bags are not stuck tightly together, they will detach themselves before enough pressure is applied to raise the tension plate and enlarge the dispensing opening. Similarly, if a previously dispensed bag is not removed by a customer, the gripping edge will merely slide back and forth beneath the portion of the'dispensed bag still in the machine and no additional bag will be dispensed.

A normally biased closed switch 50 is desirably positioned on the housing to have its throw 51 extend into the housing, where it can be contacted by the bags. When the bags are stacked to the height of the throw 51, or above, the switch is held open, but when the bags drop below the throw, the switch is closed to complete a circuit (not shown) energizing a low-bag warning light (not shown).

The bag dispenser may be used separately or with a vending machine for other products. It is only necessary to momentarily energize solenoid 25 to dispense a bag, although the period of energization can be extended if desired. This can be accomplished, for example, by any conventional vending machine circuit that is even momentarily established in response to energization ,by a deposited coin.

Whereas there is here illustrated and specifically described a certain preferred construction of apparatus which is presently regarded as the best mode of carrying out the invention, it should be understood that various changes may be made and other constructions adopted without departing from the inventive subject matter particularly pointed out and claimed herebelow.

We claim:

1. A bag dispenser, comprising a housing which is open at its front and has side walls, a back wall, and a bottom wall curved from said back wall downwardly to said open front, said bottom wall having a cut-away portion therein extending from its mid-section to the open front of the housing; guides inv the housing, said guides being mounted on the bottom wall and extending adjacent the side walls to provide a support platform for bags as they are dispensed from the housing, and including abutment means to prevent return travel of said bags into the housing; a tension plate having a bottom edge curving outwardly from the housing; means mounting the tension plate for sliding movement on the side walls of the housing at the said front opening thereof; stop means limiting downward movement of the tension plate, whereby the curved bottom edge thereof is held spaced from the bottom wall a sufiicient distance to enable a bag to be passed therebetween; means yieldably biasing the tension plate to its lowered position against said stop means; and solenoid actuated means for dispensing the lowermost bag of a stack of bags from the housing through said front opening thereof between the curved bottom edge of the tension plate and the bottom wall.

2. A bag dispenser according to claim '1, wherein the solenoid actuated means for dispensing a bag from the housing. includes a solenoid; a rod adapted to be expelled from said solenoid upon energization thereof; a slide carried by said rod; guide means fixed to the side walls to guide the slide in reciprocating movement beneath the bottom wall; means biasing said rod to a return position within the solenoid; a bag-engagement member extending through the cut-away portion of the bottom wall, said bag-engagement member including a raised bag-gripping edge and a weighted edge interconnected by a curved portion; and means mounting said bag-engagement member for rocking of said curved portion on said slide.

3. A bag dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the solenoid actuated means for dispensing a bag from the housing includes a solenoid; a rod adapted to be expelled from said solenoid upon energization thereof; a slide carried by said rod; guide means fixed to the side walls to guide the slide in reciprocating movement beneath the bottom wall; means biasing said rod to a return position within the solenoid; a bag-engaging member extending through the cut-away portion of the bottom wall, said bag-engagement member including a raised bag-gripping edge and another edge interconnected by a curved portion; means mounting said bag-engagement member for rocking of said curved portion on said slide; and means responsive to expulsion of said rod from said solenoid for biasing the bag-engagement member to a position wherein the bag-gripping edge is rocked upwardly.

4. A bag dispenser comprising a housing for a stack of bags to be dispensed; a dispensing opening at the lower end of said housing and through which bags are adapted to be dispensed; a solenoid; a rod adapted to be expelled from the solenoid upon energization thereof; means biasing the rod to a return position within the solenoid; a bag engagement member carried by the rod,

and extending through the bottom of the housing, said References Cited by the Examiner bag-engagement member including a bag-engaging edge UNITED STATES PATENTS and another edge mterconnected by an upwardly curved portion, and the bag-engaging edge being reversely curved 948,226 2/1910 J g with respect to said upwardly curved portion; and means 5 1633588 6/1927 Klmenberg T mounting said bag-engaging member for rocking move- 1 g gfi t fth d1 d rt 'th tt th Y men 0 upwar Y curve P Ion W1 respec 0 6 2,577,307 12/1951 Carlson 221 258 rod such that the bag-engaging edge is rocked up to present an edge surface for bag engagement when the l rod is expelled from the solenoid and is rocked down 1 LOUIS DEMBO Pnma'y Exammer' to present a smooth curved surface in engagement with WALTER SOBIN, Assistant Examiner. the bag when the rod is retracted into the solenoid. 

1. A BAG DISPENSER, COMPRISING A HOUSING WHICH IS OPEN AT ITS FRONT AND HAS SIDE WALLS, A BACK WALL, AND A BOTTOM WALL CURVED FROM SAID BACK WALL DOWNWARDLY TO SAID OPEN FRONT, SAID BOTTOM WALL HAVING A CUT-AWAY PORTION THEREIN EXTENDING FROM ITS MID-SECTION TO THE OPEN FRONT OF THE HOUSING; GUIDES IN THE HOUSING, SAID GUIDES BEING MOUNTED ON THE BOTTOM WALL AND EXTENDING ADJACENT THE SIDE WALLS TO PROVIDE A SUPPORT PLATFORM FOR BAGS AS THEY ARE DISPENSED FROM THE HOUSING, AND INCLUDING ABUTMENT MEANS TO PREVENT RETURN TRAVEL OF SAID BAGS INTO THE HOUSING; A TENSION PLATE HAVING A BOTTOM EDGE CURVING OUTWARDLY FROM THE HOUSING; MEANS MOUNTING THE TENSION PLATE FOR SLIDING MOVEMENT ON THE SIDE WALLS OF THE HOUSING AT THE SAID FRONT OPENING THEREOF; STOP MEANS LIMITING DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF THE TENSION PLATE, WHEREBY THE CURVED BOTTOM EDGE THEREOF IS HELD SPACED FROM THE BOTTOM WALL A SUFFICIENT DISTANCE TO ENABLE A BAG TO BE PASSED THEREBETWEEN; MEANS YIELDABLY BIASING THE TENSION PLATE TO ITS LOWERED POSITION AGAINST SAID STOP MEANS; AND SOLENOID ACTUATED MEANS FOR DISPENSING THE LOWERMOST BAG OF A STACK OF BAGS FROM THE HOUSING THROUGH SAID FRONT OPENING THEREOF BETWEEN THE CURVED BOTTOM EDGE OF THE TENSION PLATE AND THE BOTTOM WALL. 